Here is a Fantasy at Art Fag City

I’ve been too busy, but it’s not because I haven’t wanted to blog, but I’ve been writing at another blog. I know, I know, it sounds like I’ve been cheating on this WordPress for another, but you will always be my first love. I’ve linked to a Recommended Shows Listing after the jump. If you could only see one show in Chelsea right now, I would make sure to see Christian Marclay’s “The Clock” before it closes at Paula Cooper Gallery this Saturday at 8 PM. Of course, I’m excited about other openings this weekend – including those with LIVE SNAKES. More on the snakes in another post.

Recommended Shows – Plus Ratings!

I like art, but sometimes I want to convey by how much, and a simple thumbs-up won’t always cut it. Art Fag City has started rating its Recommended Show Listings. We’re not exactly Pitchfork, but maybe just a little bit. Below are our latest reviews complete with numerical ratings. The individual reviews also display in our side bar, so check in every few days for more. Or just wait for our summary posts. We’ll remind readers when we’ve added to our list.

Although it doesn’t fall under the AFC Recommended Shows category, Christian Marclay’s The Clock, as we’ve written about on the blog here and here, closes this weekend, and will play non-stop from 10am Friday to 6pm Saturday. Our rating for that show? 8/10 (Paddy Johnson) and 8/10 (Will Brand). Try to go at an odd hour so that you won’t get stuck in too long a line.

The end of painting is a prime subject for Hammons, though ultimately his attempts to kill it backfire—cloth folds become expressionistic gestures, while the heavy lighting of the gallery gives the works a baroque drama. – Corinna Kirsch (7/10)

They’re strange reiterations of mid-century Color Field painting and Minimalist sculpture, and visually seductive, covering a range of colors from the deep black of “Lux Interior (rubber)” to the hazy gold of “After Red Desert.” Some invoke the supernatural – the title of “Planchette,” a dark purple wall-relief of paper and aluminum, refers to the small piece of wood used to spell out messages on a Ouijia board – while others play with the simple idea that things are not what they seem. – Corinna Kirsch (6/10)

Thayer’s bright and blurry animations flicker against Miko’s paintings on aluminum, resulting in ghostly, mesmerizing images. It’s rare that an artistic collaboration can result in such an amalgamation where both artists’ works form a seamless whole. (Unrated)

Made up of artists and works concerned with the art world, EFA’s latest exhibition has already received some rave reviews. We’re particularly interested in Eric Doeringer and William Powhida, but all of the twenty artists exhibiting are worth a look. Ed. Note: Paddy Johnson went to see the show since the penning of this recommendation. She wrote the following: A particular branch of institutional critique known for embracing the art world more than it rejects it. Andrea Fraser and Merlin Carpenter don’t make the curatorial cut in this show — presumably they aren’t quite outsider enough — but nearly everyone else working in the field does. The result is an over hung exhibition watered down by weak work. There also were not nearly enough art world crossword puzzle books by Charles Gute. Jerry Saltz thinks the show should be in a museum. (6/10)